By Paul Elias
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Two Northern California sheriff’s deputies have been charged with felonies in the beating of a suspected car thief in an incident captured on surveillance video and circulated widely online.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon announced Tuesday that Alameda County sheriff’s deputies Luis R. Santamaria and Paul D. Wieber were charged with assault.
Residents’ surveillance cameras captured two deputies delivering more than 40 blows with steel batons to a man lying prone in an alley after a high-speed chase Nov. 12. The driver was hospitalized with a concussion and multiple broken bones in his hands.
Attorneys for the men were not immediately available for comment.
The deputies also stand accused of stealing the suspected thief’s gold chain to give to a homeless man to keep him quiet about the beating.
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